


Calling the Moon

by sabrina



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-30
Updated: 2003-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-07 09:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabrina/pseuds/sabrina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally wrote this to submit to the <a href="http://www.sugarquill.net/">Sugar Quill's</a> Forbidden Forest contest, but then I missed the deadline date!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Calling the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Originally wrote this to submit to the [Sugar Quill's](http://www.sugarquill.net/) Forbidden Forest contest, but then I missed the deadline date!

_Cool, calm, concealing. _

_As if it were alive. _

_Swirling grey mist weaving amongst the trunks of trees like a serpent sliding around an animal's feet. _

_Cool, calm, concealing. _

_Anything but comforting._

 

Severus Snape drew his cloak about his body as he stepped off the path and over a tangle of tree roots that looked as if a woman's knitting basket had been turned over, skeins of yarn scattering across the grounds impossible to untangle. The silver and green scarf flung loosely over his shoulder caught on a branch and he grimaced as he stopped to unhook it.

He was out of bounds. If he were caught, it would be detention for a week. As the thought flashed through his mind he took another defiant step off of the path. Every muscle in his body was tense, rigid, and ready to snap at the slightest provocation. He was sick of it all. Sick of being the one they watched in the halls: the one they avoided making eye contact with: the one they were all half afraid of.

He hesitated a moment. He had, in his anger, gone further into the forest than he realized and he did not want to lose his way. Though he was confident in his ability to hex anything that might cross his path, he did not wish to be lost in these woods. Having to be rescued from the forbidden Forest by a professor or the keeper of the grounds would feed Potter and Black's jabs for months—until the end of the school year and probably into the next, to say nothing of the detention he would inevitably receive.

He took another step forward, over a particularly gnarled root and around a leafy green holly bush and paused in a circular clearing of trees. The ivy and moss embraced the trees' sides, caressing the roots and stretching out onto the ground that glowed silver in the moonlight. His eyes had grown accustomed to the dark of the forest and the sudden light flooding through the clearing from the perfectly round silver orb above him felt harsh. He stopped, truly looking around for the first time since he had left the grounds. The makeshift path he had passed through seemed extremely dark, and beyond the clearing's light, the forest seemed to dissolve into blackness. He felt prickles up his spine as if a hundred tiny spiders suddenly were crawling up his back and arms. It felt as if there were eyes taking in his every movement, but in spite of the distinct unease rising within him, he stepped forward into the clearing. He pushed down his unrest—fear was for cowards and the helpless and he was neither—and raised his chin in defiance towards the unseen eyes, whatever or whoever they belonged to.

Stepping resolutely into the center of the clearing, he stood inside the circle, raising his pale face to take a full look at the moon. It was a full moon that shone down on him, brilliant ivory light reflecting from a large orb. There could be werewolves in these trees he knew, but the thought passed nearly as quickly as it came.

He did not care.

Here he could think, in solitude and without fear of being hexed or cursed behind his back. When it came right down to it, he would prefer to take his chances with the beasts. Someday he would show them all and they would give him the acknowledgement he deserved. In that moment, he would turn his back on them and give them the treatment they deserved—arrogant, self-righteous gits.

Somewhere in the trees a low moan rose, intensifying in volume and pitch until it echoed throughout the trees, resonating off the branches and rising into the night sky, finally absorbed into the moon, as if responding to it.

Severus froze.

Another sound followed it, the sharp, deep bark of a dog, echoing as a vague parody of the wolf's howl.

He turned, his senses alert, his eyes scanning the trees behind him. It had sounded close, very close, but he knew it might not be as nearby as it sounded. Still, the howl was unmistakable. It had been a wolf's voice echoing through the trees.

And it was a full moon.

Slipping his hand inside his robes, he pulled out his wand, and stepped towards the edge of the clearing. Near him, bushes rustled, and he spun round towards the noise, raising his wand as he did so. But it was only a stag. A beautiful creature with a rack of antlers that might have stretched his arm span. It regarded him calmly and then as the wolf's voice called once more to the moon, the animal raised its head, and turned, bounding into the trees towards where the howl had resonated from.

Severus didn't wait to see if any other creature would appear, but turned out of the clearing, working back towards the real path and out towards the Hogwarts grounds. His hand grasped his wand the entire time, every sense alert for any possible danger. When he reached the grounds, he looked around, and then crept back into the castle.

 

_'Better watch where you go at night, Snivelus.'_

_The words were cool and calm, but there was a challenge behind them and Severus' hand was on his wand in an instant, the long smooth wood in his hand before Black could draw his own. _

_'What business of it is yours what I do at night?' Severus snapped, his mind racing quickly. If Black knew he'd been out of bounds, how did he know? Had he seen him leave the castle?_

_The taller boy smirked slightly and shrugged, turning his back on Severus and walking towards Double Potions._

_ Severus watched him go. Black was superior and smug as if he knew something Severus did not. _ But not for long, _he thought determinedly._ Not for long. I _will_ figure it out.


End file.
